Towards a conceptual model of an effective internal audit in the public sector

Abstract

The practice of internal auditing has undergone considerable changes in recent times. The most important being that of widening its scope fromprivate to public sector. This article aims to understand the factors of the emergence of this function in Moroccan public administrations, in order to conclude whether it is a response to a real need or only an illusion of control motivated by a trend.To answer this question, we used a number of research tools. First, a literature review in which the precepts of the contributions of the audit explosion theory will be invoked . Then, an analysis of the Moroccan case where three explanatory factors will be identified: institutional, managerial and legal-regulatory. Thereafter, a theoretical model for the effectiveness of internal auditing will be presented, which will facilitate research and the conduct of studies analyzing the effectiveness of internal auditing in public sector in general and in the Moroccan sector in specific, taking into consideration the specificities and characteristics of certain public organisations, sectors of activity or contexts in which they operate.